Water softening apparatus



prim 13, 1937. H NASH I ,@77,@@

WATER SOFTENING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 21, 1936 ATTORN EY Patented Apr. 13, 1937 UNl TED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,011,003 WATER SOFTENING APPARATUS John H. Nash, Dayton, Ohio Application February 21, 1936, Serial No. 65,098

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in base exchange water softeners, it more particularly relating to provisions whereby a circulatory flow of brine through the mineral bed is set up as the .3 brine begins to form.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide means whereby the time of preparing the brine and effecting a regeneration is reduced. This feature is explained by stating that in other softening systems the brine is prepared in the saturator to its full strength before it is allowed to enter and flow through the mineral bed where the coating on the granules is dissolved. In the present invention regeneration starts practically as I.) soon as formation of brine begins as will be explained. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a saturator of the improved type which will most readily lend itself to conversion jobs, that is, the

means whereby the circulatory flow is set up is easily applied to prior necessarily non-circulating systems so as to provide the better circulating ilow. By conversion it is often found that instead of throwing away a mineral bed which apparently has lost its regenerative ability that capacity is recovered and that such beds give perfeet service when the circulating flow system is employed.

in. the accompanying drawing:

Fig. l is an elevation with broken-away portions of a water softener in which the principles of the invention are embodied.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line li-i oi Fig. 1'.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line $-3 of Fig. 2.

Figi is a vertical section in fragmentary form oil a modification.

Referring to the drawing, i represents a tanlt containingthe bed of exchange material 2 which may be zeolite or any oi the commonly used one change materials. The mineral bed is sup ported on the gravel bed i which acts as a difi'user for the water to he softened before entering the 45 mineral bed, the lower portion t of the tanlsi being hopper-shaped to aid in difiusion. The

hard water enters the difiuser bed it through the nozzle 5' which is connectedto the service pipe t through the piping i, so that on actuating the 50 valve t, the hard water item the service. pipe flows into and rises upwardly through the mineral i bed and there gives up to the mineral grainsthe lime, magnesium and other constituents which produce hardness in the water.

55 Above the mineral is what is mourn. as the free-board indicated at 9 in which space is stored the softened water after having passed through the mineral bed. The outlet from the softener tank i is through the screen i0 and outwardly through the filter device II and thence to the house pipe it through a valve i2. 'The discharge to the sewer is through the valve 26' to the pipe 26.

The saturator in which the salt is placed is a comparatively short tank l3 placed above the level of the softener tank i in order to utilize the force of gravity in establishing the circulatory fiow of brine. By means of the T M the saturator is connected to the service pipe 6 by a short length of pipe to in which a valve i6 is interposed so as to obtain water from the service pipe from which to form brine, and is also connected to the pipe I therebelow leading to the lower end of the mineral bed.

There is provided a salt support M! (Fig. 3) which in the present case is merely a disk-like member of woven wire mesh to allow circulation therethrough. This support rests on small brackets Zil attached to the inner surface of the side wall of the saturator tank i 3, and, since with the present system, there is no need of storing quantities of brine, the support it may be placed comparatively close to the bottom of the tank, making it possible to use a short tank. The height of the tanis depends first on the amount of salt that will be used at a regeneration (this amount depending on the size of the softener) and, second, on the amount of water over the salt, it being preferred in the present system that the salt be submerged. Obviously, the top oi the tank i3 is open, and a cover it is provided to close the tank. The water level in the tank; it is visible in the sight gauge the proper level is indicated by a in in. the present case is an annular bead r err-the side wail of the tank.

The ctireuiatory flow oi brine is allowed for by pro'i iciin connection from the upper part or the softener ta" i and the upper part of the saturator tank specifically this pipe connection is a pipe iii leading from the house pipe at a point intermediate the softener tank i and the house pipe valve iii with a valve 22 in the pipe it so that with the valve 22 opened and the valves it and 2% closed, the course of water from the softener i is to the saturator only.

When it is desired to effect a. regeneration, salt preferably in fabric bags in the proper measured quantities is placed on the salt support it m'thesaturator tank it. The housopipe valve it is closed and the valves it and 22 are opened,

allowing water from the service pipe 8 to flow through the opened service pipe valve 8 into the saturator tank ,II until the proper level it is reached, and as stated before, this amount of water will cover the salt. When the level is through the pipe 26. To flush the system, the

water valve 8 is opened for a time, and when softened water shows at the end of the pipe 26, the valves 26' and 22 are closed and the house pipe valve is opened, thereby returning the softener to service.

This downward flow of brine, however weak it may be at first, is shown by the arrows in the pipe I. The fresh water present in the pipe I at the start of the flow is displaced and is pushed ahead by the brine which eventually enters the mineral bed, and all the water there in the interstices is forced upwardly, passing along with the fresh water in the free-board space, further upwardly and entering the saturator tank it near its upper end where the pipe 2| connects into the saturator tank. The upward flow of the fresh water is shown by arrows in the softener tank and pipe 2|, it being understood that as the process continues and brine of greater strength is made, that these same arrows taken with the other arrows shown in Fig. 1, indicate the circulatory flow of brine. It will be understood that by experiment the amount of salt suilicient for a regeneration may be determined and that amount placed in the continue until all the salt is dissolved into brine.

It will be understood further, however, that the time is not unduly long, nor as long as compared with non-circulatory systems, because with the present system of circulatory flow, regeneration.

starts as soon as the flow begins.

In Fig. 4 there is shown a modification in the form of salt supporting means. In the form shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the salt,'without removal from the fabric bags, is placed in the saturator tank on the wire mesh support l9, as described, but in the support shown in Fig. 4, there is provided a metallic ring 23 to which is fastened a fabric bag 24 into which loose salt may be placed. The ring rests on brackets 25 attached to the inner side wall of the tank, and with this form also, all of the salt is covered by water.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

In a water softening apparatus, a mineral tank, a brine receptacle, a salt support in said brine receptacle, a pipe leading from the lower end of said brine receptacle to the lower end of said mineral tank, a service pipe connected with said first mentioned pipe, a valve for controlling, the same, a valve in said first mentioned pipe between the brine receptacle and said service pipe, a house pipe leading from the upper end of said mineral tank, a valve for controlling the same, a drain pipe connected with said house pipe, a valve for controlling the same, and a pipe leading from said house pipe to said brine receptacle and entering the same above said salt support, said last mentioned pipe being located between the mineral tank and the drain pipe and the valve which controls the house pipe.-

JOHN H. NASH. 

